Suppose that somebody comes up with a great method that requires complete rankings, perhaps a de-cloned version of the Kemeny Order.
Here's a suggestion for a convention on filling in the truncated ballots: Automatically rank the truncated candidates according to the candidate card published by the highest ranked candidate on the ballot. So if a ballot comes in as A>B>C=D, and candidate A's published preference order is A>D>C>B, then the ballot is completed as A>B>D>C. A more complicated example: Let's say a ballot comes in as A=B>C=D, and the published preferences of candidates A and B are A>B>C>D and B>A>C>D, respectively. Then it is clear that C=D should be replaced with C>D, but how about the A=B? We consult C's published preference order C>B>A>D, to break the tie. The result is B>A>C>D. ---- Election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
